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Sunday, December 28, 2008

4 Little Monkeys...

After all of the pre Christmas Hullabaloo with Alexander's hospitalization, all of my babies got to be together for Christmas! I couldn't have been happier! They can't possibly know the ferocious extent of my love for all of them. I mean, of course they know I love them, I tell and show them every day. But one day, when they look into the eyes of their own child, they will know. I am so proud and thankful to have such wonderful, talented, and inspiring children. Merry Christmas, and Happy New Year, all!!!
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Thursday, December 4, 2008

Product JUNKIE


So I am pretty much a product JUNKIE. No other way to state it! These YoYo lip glosses are such a novel idea! They are actually retractable (3.5 feet!)from a cute little clip that you can attach to practically anything, and a PERFECT stocking stuffer for your teen or tween. It's also not sticky, like most glosses, which makes me actually WANT to borrow it (ok, not just "borrow" but actually own!). I am particularly fond of Krackalackin Clear, as I recently read that women in their 40's should stick to glosses because it makes the lip lines not as noticeable, and I don't like a whole lot of color during the day. Just wanted to share...

Saturday, November 22, 2008

Friday, November 14, 2008

Snips and Snails....


So I'm at work for 45 minutes on Tuesday, and I get a phone call. Bruce is very upset (and sounding rough, too, with the cold he is getting over), and telling me that we need to take Alexander to the ER. Seems he was runnung from our bedroom to Heather's bedroom to see if she was ready to go to work (Bruce and the kids were taking her). His goofy toddler body + his Lightening McQueen legs = tripping and falling face first(full force!) into her door jam. They came and picked me up from work and went straight to the ER. For a good hour, he couldn't even stand up on his own! He never lost conciousness, though, and after a couple days of a very stoic Alexander, he is getting back to normal. He likely suffered a minor concussion, hence his 2 day loss of appetite and sedate nature-the Dr. said children his age bounce back sooner than adults do because of their insatiable need to stay active. I wonder how little boys even make it to adulthood??? You can almost tell here in the picture that his whole forehead was swollen.

Thursday, November 6, 2008

Here is my handy UHU project serving it's current purpose.
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September Glue With UHU

Finally! I have remembered to photograph my small UHU project! I took my kit (glue and aluminum case) and stared at it for days until I had an "aha" moment. That moment came when I decided I needed a simple little "rescue" case to keep at work. Now, this rescue case has so far served several purposes (holding my tea stash, holding some loose change and my debit card, and most recently, an entire 18 ct box of OB's super absorbency--which I tell you, because anything larger than that won't fit....TRUST me on this one!). When I decided what I wanted, I decided I wanted to make it simple and pretty. I crochet, but I also bead. One of the things I have done in the past is to use as many coupons as I can when Michael's and ACMOORE have them and get beads (or yarn, depending on what I am currently working on). Seed beeds cost me about 75 cents per vial with a coupon, so I always stock up on them. Another thing I do to bolster my bead stash is to find costume jewelry at the Dollar store (or anywhere else that has good clearance on jewelry--Kohl's is good), and buy it up, take it apart, and repurpose it! The embellishments on this aluminum case are simply seed beeds in forest green and rust, and silver plated rings that were salvaged from some heinous dangly earrings from the Dollar store that I cleaned them out of (who else was going to buy them, honestly???), and the UHU glu. from the September challenge. What I did was simply to place the rings on the case in a pattern. Then, I filled the rings with the glue, slightly moving the rings form side to side so that the glue would also move under the ring. After this was done, I scooped the seed beads into the glue. After it dried, I placed another drop on top and put osme more beads to make it a raised design. After these were dry. I squeezed more glue on top, and let it dry again, so that the beads were completely sealed. Very easy, and now I have very non-descript case that will serve several purposes! I can't wait to do another project! By the way, I LOVE LOVE LOVE this particular glue!! It dries perfectly clear, and sticks things to metal wonderfully!!
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Tuesday, November 4, 2008

My little Firefighter!!

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heh heh heh

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Oh man that flash is cool!!!

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My halloween face...rarrr

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Cheese!

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Hello there!!

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Look at those cheeks!!!!

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Ok, one more smile!!

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Is this photo shoot almost done yet??

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Happy Girl!!!

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A New Era


Well, this is the dawn of a new era in my family--Heather's first vote!! So this morning, I gave Her a lift to work, and I brought up the subject of election day. This is her first big election, and I wondered if she had made a decision yet. She hadn't, and I told her it was ok, because in this election, there are many in her shoes. We got to discussing other non-presidential candidates when she told me that there were some that she still didn't know enough about, but she was of the opinion that there definitely needs to be a change in our country, which I agreed to. She brought up the recent news of Exxon's most profitable quarter EVER and that was a record for ALL petroleum producers. We then discussed how long it took those stimulus checks to get out to the populace from the time the idea first came about--which lead to a discussion about this assinine bailout package that was rushed through, and started to be doled out right after it passed. We both read last week that once the companies get it, they are allowed to use it as they see fit...and a lot of those companies are using the money to bolster the bonuses they offer their bigwigs. This part of the discussion had me interjecting MY voting strategy of not voting for incumbents, because if we keep allowing the same jerks to keep their offices and to keep passing idiotic bills(even in PA a couple of years ago,our legislators voted themselves a pay raise, while there was also a freeze on state employee pay raises--including staff at state universities), than we might as well just break out the KY, because they are going to just keep doing it to us. You know, my ever insightful daughter's answer to this remark was this--"yea, because they didn't even spit on it (before they rammed us with that bailout package)." LOLOLOL I busted out laughing so hard!!! I have been worried that she wasn't educating herself enough on any issue, and here, she has been all along...with a healthy bit of cynicism to boot!! LOLOLOL

Wednesday, October 22, 2008

...I'm Here!...

Well, it's been a little while, but I am here. Why is it that even working 2 mornings a week with a toddler AND an infant is so draining?? Sure, I get on the computer, but mostly lately only to do my searches for free thing! Oh, and to order prints online. One thing that has been keeping me busy is posting on a few message boards....it would seem that there are some out there that offer $$ incentives to people who post (who knew, right?). I've made a little $$ so far, and I am still on the lookout for other things that I can get for FREE!! After my acquisition today of $25 worth of Omaha Steak products, I was really energized to continue my quest. I am currently waiting to receive my skin care sample from this company Nutritional Tree ... I always love getting skin care samples, especially those of this nature....the fine lines are bothering me..but then, I could always NOT use the magnifying mirror, huh? Anyhew, so much to do, so little time. More postings to come!! I am off for almost the entire next week!!!

Thursday, September 25, 2008

Cheap Date

Ahh, what price, happiness?!?!?! During a recent trip to Hershey's Chocolate World, I found out! Since Alexander had been begging to go to "Chocwat Wowld" for a couple weeks now, we decided to go. He LOVES the ride, but what he loves more, is shopping for chocolate! While we were shopping, and Alexander was carrying around his beloved treasure (a bag of candy that would later be given to Pama & Papa), I spied the Hershey's chocolate treat that I love MOST...The Golden Almond Bar! It's nothing like a hershey bar with almonds. The chocolate is smooth, and the almonds are whole and abundant! At any rate, in the interest of brevity and since I am in no way being compensated for my ramblings, I will say that yes, I purchased my find. After making our purchases, we decided to take Alexander on the ride again (which is a mock tour of the entire Hershey's manufacturing outfit) since Sedona needed to be nursed, and it was as low lit and quiet as cold be. As I was nursing Sedona and nibbling a small piece of Golden Almond Bar, we were going through the stage where you actually smell cocoa. At that moment, I spied Alexander, who was on Bruce's lap, staring with the kind of wonder reserved for two-yr-olds...At that moment, nursing my beautiful baby, eating the food of the gods, experiencing olfactory perfection, and seeing the wonder in my precious boy's eyes, I knew that pure, unadulterated happines (at least on that day) cost me a mere $2.95...the cost of the chocolate that was the coup de gras of my wonderful evening with my family (redux).


Monday, September 15, 2008

.....Chicken Freak....


Kimberly took this beautiful picture of herself WITH HER CELLPHONE!. I think it embodies every essence that is her! Props to her for showing her beauty! Perhaps, one day, she will see what everyone else sees when they see her....

Wednesday, September 10, 2008

BROKEBACK WHAT?!?!?


Catastrophe #1--While not falling under the true definition of catastrophe, Bruce had a severe pain in his mouth, and to my astonishment, actually called the dentist, who in turn called in an rx for penicillin and vicodin (is it so very wrong to be jealous??). Since we are both going on the 11th anyway for our semiannual checkup, the dentist was hoping this would work. Thankfully, it was indeed a small infection, and the rx worked wonders. I don't understand, though I do admire, Bruce's utter refusal to even use the vicodin that he filled...We all know what a low tolerance for any kind of pain in the mouth region I have ! I mean, if I were the one in that kind of pain, I would have been on that stuff like white on rice, and would have made Bruce be the one to breastfeed! Kudos, my love!!

Catastrophe #2--So it's a quiet night at home, and Heather is home for the night to hang out with me and watch a couple of previously t-voed programs we both enjoy (no, I won't defend my watching of America's Next Top Model, and who couldn't love The Closer?????). We were just allowing Alexander to finish watching an episode of FooFoo (translating from toddler speak, FooFoo = Zoboomofoo)before bedtime as I was nursing Sedona. Then, it would be an evening of happy times with the tv. Well, as I was burping Sedona, all of a sudden, she began gasping and became rigid! She had several of these episodes in rapid succession in which she couldn't catch her breath and her face was getting beet red. With 5 children, I have never experienced that and was very unnerved. Then, just as quickly as it all began, she sighed, and fell fast asleep. I didn't know what to think!! Was it a seizure (no fever or illness)?? Was it a heart attack(huh??)?? I decided to call Bruce at work, and we took her to the ER, where we ultimately found out that it was merely an attack of reflux, and that sometimes an infant's esophagus can spasm during these attacks (who knew??). At any rate, she was fine, and we both felt like complete idiots for being there when there were far sicker children for them to be seeing.

Catastrophe #3--Well, this is the doozie, so I will just come out with it. Alexander was bitten right in the twig & berries by the dog that belongs to Pama & Papa while his diaper was being changed (Pama = grandma, Papa = grandpa). I won't go into the entire back story involving the dog (german shep), but she does have a "seizure related aggression disorder", and has been on medication for several years for it. The fate of Katie (Pama's dog) is still undecided, though the two options are either euthanizing her or hoping that a german shepherd rescue group will take her (which Bruce thinks is unlikely, given her history, and her aggression against other animals and humans that are not immediate family--and fyi...her inner circle is very small, and doesn't include moi).This incident is a very sore subject for all involved, but, to end on a high note, Alexander's twig and berries are healing nicely from the small punctures that did not go through to the muscle (WHEEWWWWWWWWWW!!!!) and the bruising. The very ugly swelling and redness are also dissipating, thanks to some diligent neosporin usage and the evening bath with three capfuls of Clorox in the water (as a pediatrician recommended treatment, since our spirited little man thwarts every one of our very valiant efforts to get the Augmentin down his throat). I'm honesty surprised that Alexander's initiation into the boyhood club of injury related ER visits was this and NOT an injury related to his climbing...I hope he makes it through childhood with all his teeth, no broken bones, and no stitches...............................sigh...............................At least this one wasn't of his own doing, right??

Saturday, August 30, 2008

Really?


Ever since we brought Sedona home from the hospitol, Alexander has pretty much wanted to try to get into every shot we try to take of her. This is the most dramatic effort so far to maintain his status in the food chain by blocking the shot entirely. Stay tuned! I just discovered this blogging thing and I am chock full of blogging inspiration!

A Stench In Time

How much olfactory assault can mom's nose take before she barfs? Well, Alexander seems to want to up the ante every single time he fills the diaper lately. And my GAWD!!! The sheer volume that boy produces is quite a feat! These little gifts lately wouldn't be so bad if they weren't accompanied half the time with the obligatory hand in the diaper which is then pulled out to show me that indeed, "Mama, I Tinky". ***CRINGE*** I love my little man to death, but I have to face facts...he is a boy, and it would seem that boys are intrigued by every bodily excretion. I know this is normal, and that is physical infatuation with his own poop will eventually segue into typical boy potty humor by the time he hits kindergarten. ~~~~~~~~sigh~~~~~~~~~~~